Bruin's brace powers Dynamo past Timbers

Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Will Bruin scored on either side of the intermission on Saturday to propel the Houston Dynamo to a 3-1 win over the Portland Timbers at BBVA Compass Stadium.

After earning a 2-1 win over Toronto FC last time out, the home-standing Dynamo aimed to carry that momentum into Saturday's match and they had the better of the play right from the outset, opening the scoring after just nine minutes.

U.S. international Brad Davis lined up a free kick and swung a well-placed left-footed ball into the penalty area where Bruin found himself unmarked for a free header past Portland goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey.

But the Timbers pulled level just three minutes into the second half when Fanendo Adi got free for a run down the right side of the pitch. He collected a pass from Diego Valeri, held off his mark and fired it past Houston goalkeeper Tyler Deric.

The hosts seized full control of the match in the second half as Giles Barnes gave the Dynamo the lead with 15 minutes to play after he smashed one into the top corner, and Bruin completed his brace with seven minutes to play via a fantastic chipped effort over the head of Kwarasey.

Portland sent numbers forward in the final minutes looking to finish strong, but the visitors could not find another goal through four minutes of added time and suffered their fourth defeat of the season.